


A Bittersweet Kinda Happy

by Radio Rascal (Vagrants)



Category: Gears of War (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, Some Cursing, Unrequited Crush, brief description of alcohol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 06:44:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8391268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vagrants/pseuds/Radio%20Rascal
Summary: Cole's happy for them, he really is! But does that mean he can't be a little sad for himself too?





	

**Author's Note:**

> i love this ship but there's barely anything out there for it... :^(

Cole didn’t drink much, and it showed. He was tipsy after just a few ounces of Dizzy’s special brew, the world starting to tilt around him. The barstool wasn’t uncomfortable yet, so he was content to sit there and watch beads of condensation roll down the glass.

The bar had a moderate level of activity. The atmosphere had been more genial since the Countermeasure strike a year ago, but for once Cole wasn’t feeling the vibe. He knew he didn’t want to be alone, though, and the background noise of multiple blurred-together conversations helped him keep his mind off things.

He heard the side door swing open, and in the corner of his eye saw the figure stand still for a moment. “Cole?”

Marcus? Shit. He should have known. Marcus came down here on occasion--he was still reeling from Dom, and some nights were worse than others.

Cole would have much preferred to talk about Marcus’s problems, but the look in those pale blue eyes told him they were going down a different path. Marcus sat down next to Cole and waved off the approaching bartender.

“What’re you doing here?” he asked.

“Just havin’ a drink,” Cole said, forcing a smile.

“People don’t drink alone unless they got something on their mind,” he said, “or they’re looking to get picked up. This isn’t that kind of bar, so I’m gonna go with the former.”

Cole sighed. Marcus could be pretty perceptive at times, and he wasn’t a good enough liar to get out of this one. “Yeah, guess I’ve been thinking. About the future and stuff.” That was vague enough, right?

“The future  _ is _ pretty scary when you realize you got one,” Marcus said, sounding thoughtful. Everyone had known Anya was expecting since a month ago, and given her previous fertility problems, it was more than a little nerve-wracking for them and everyone who cared about the couple.

Cole latched onto it. “How’s she doing?”

Marcus nodded, his eyes holding a knowing look. “She and the baby are fine.”

“Man, it’s still hard to believe…we saved the world, so everybody’s getting hitched and having kids.”

Marcus lifted a brow, but turned to face the row of bottles on the back shelf. “You want kids, Cole?”

He shrugged. “I think I’d like bein’ a dad, but if it doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t happen.” So that was the way he looked at things now? All because of this? He frowned at his glass, wondering if it was the hooch.

“You don’t have to feel pressured,” Marcus said. “Baird doesn’t have kids either.”

_ Baird _ . The mention of the name made Cole glance away. He realized too late it was an obvious tell.

Marcus leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “Is it about Sam?”

Cole licked his lips. They were suddenly dry, and the alcohol wouldn’t do anything to help. “Uh, I guess.”

He’d seen them kissing. They thought they were being secretive, but he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now he saw it in his mind‘s eye again. Baird with his woman.

“I mean, I’m happy for her,” Cole said. “Damon’s a little rough ‘round the edges but he’s a good guy. I think me and Boomer Lady softened him up for her, y’know? Then she came in and…landed the killin’ blow, so to speak.” He felt like he was rambling now, and the hooch made him feel loose-lipped, but he didn’t want to stop yet. “She’s really lucky, and I think somewhere deep inside she knows it, even if she won’t say it.”

Marcus had remained silent, eyes forward--maybe he felt awkward, maybe he was contemplating a drink. When Cole didn‘t continue, he looked over again, slightly quizzical. “I thought it was about Sam.”

_ Ah, shit _ . “It is, ain’t it?” His voice was strained. He was really not good at hiding things, and he shouldn’t have gotten drunk before trying to not-talk about things, probably.

“You’re using Sam’s name, but you’re  _ talking _ an awful lot about the male component of their relationship.”

“Aw, man, Marcus…”

“Hey, it’s none of my business.” Marcus shrugged. “Maybe I shouldn’t have butted in at all, but you’re…well, you help a lot. And Bernie’s not around now.” 

She had gone back to Anvil Gate, to be with Hoffman. Besides her and Damon, Cole didn’t have personal conversations with people, and he couldn’t talk to Baird for obvious reasons. “Nah, I appreciate it. I think I should’ve talked sooner.” It made him feel better than the hooch did, for sure.

Marcus looked a little stiff, unused to this kind of thing, but the end of the war--and Anya--had brought out something softer in him. Before, he probably would have never probed this deep, opting to mention it to Baird or someone else. “Does he know?”

“No.” He’d kept it a secret at first because he didn’t know how Baird would react, and over time it became a dumb habit. Even if he broke the news, he knew for a fact which team Damon batted for.

“It’d help if you told him,” Marcus said. “Probably…not now, though. But later.”

“Later.” After their wedding, maybe.

That thought was far too petty. Cole glared at the glass suspiciously again.

“If you want to tell someone something…you need to just do it.”

Cole pushed the glass away and stood, relieved to find he wasn’t as drunk as he thought. He smiled genuinely at Marcus. “Yeah, you’re right. I know it but sometimes it’s easy to forget.”

Marcus stood as well. “It is. We all do it.”

“Thanks for listening. I’m gonna get outta here. This isn’t my type of place.”

“Which is why I thought it looked weird,” Marcus said with the slightest of smirks. “Glad I could help.”

They parted ways. The night air around the base helped settle Cole’s mind more. Yeah, he was happy for Baird, and Sam, too. It was a kind of bittersweet happiness, but he wasn’t about to get angry at anyone. If anything, he was disappointed in himself for getting so hung up over one guy.

But the world was big, growing bigger each day, and his life was ahead of him. The only thing in Cole’s way was the inevitable reveal to Baird, and he wasn’t one hundred percent looking forward to it.

…Man, he’d have to get legitimately shitfaced for that one.


End file.
